Substitution of mineral fertilizers with biogas digestate plus biochar increases physically stabilized soil carbon but not crop biomass in a field trial

Greenberg, Isabel; Kaiser, Michael; Gunina, Anna; Ledesma, Philipp; Polifka, Steven; Wiedner, Katja; Mueller, Carsten W.; Glaser, Bruno; Ludwig, Bernard

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.051

Cited by 47 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…In fact, the registered BMP of 89 ± 17 Lbiogas kg -1 dw (Table S1) was much lower than values reported in the literature (on average) for both energy crop digestate (229 ± 31 Lbiogas kg -1 dw) and composts (144 ± 3.8 -201 ± 20 Lbiogas kg -1 dw), and not far from previous data reported for a similar digestate (i.e., 57 ± 23 Lbiogas kg -1 dw) (Pigoli et al, 2021). This confirms that the organic matter contained in the digestate used was very stable, preventing the rapid degradation of the carbon added to the soil, which accumulated over time (Alburquerque et al, 2012;Greenberg et al, 2019), as will be discussed later.…”

Section: The Effect Of Recovered Fertilizers On Soilsupporting

confidence: 79%

Using highly stabilized digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulphate to replace synthetic fertilizers: The effects on soil, environment, and crop production

Zilio

Pigoli

Rizzi

et al. 2022

Science of The Total Environment

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Recovered fertilizers (a highly stabilized digestate and ammonium sulphate) obtained from anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, were used on plot trials with a maize crop, in a comparison with synthetic fertilizers. After three consecutive cropping seasons, the soils fertilized with the recovered fertilizers (RF), compared to those fertilized with synthetic fertilizers (SF), did not show significant differences either in their chemical characteristics or in the accumulation of inorganic and organic pollutants (POPs). The RF ensured an ammonia N availability in the soil equal to that of the soil 2 fertilized with SF, during the whole period of the experiment. Furthermore, no risks of N leaching were detected, and the use of RF did not result in a greater emission of ammonia or greenhouse gases than the use of SF. The agronomic results obtained using RF were equivalent to those obtained with SF (fertilizer use efficiency of 85.3 ± 10 and 93.6 ± 4.4% for RF and SF respectively). The data show that utilising a very stable digestate can be a good strategy to produce a bio-based fertilizer with similar performance to that of a synthetic fertilizer, without environmental risks.

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Section: The Effect Of Recovered Fertilizers On Soilsupporting

confidence: 79%

Using highly stabilized digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulphate to replace synthetic fertilizers: The effects on soil, environment, and crop production

Zilio

Pigoli

Rizzi

et al. 2022

Science of The Total Environment

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“…A related study by Liao and Thomas (2019) found that the addition of small grained (0.06-0.5 mm) sieved BC to a granitic sand increased the pH by 0.3 units, compared to a larger grain size (2-4 mm), which showed no significant difference; thus confirming our findings in respect of grain size effects. Liao and Thomas (2019) further suggested that BC produced from feedstocks of smaller particle size, such as the decomposed plant material which constitutes part of the digestate from which the HC in this study was produced (Greenberg et al 2019), have a higher ash content, thus promoting alkalinity.…”

Section: Soil Phmentioning

confidence: 90%

The influence of hydrochar from biogas digestate on soil improvement and plant growth aspects

Jager

Röhrdanz

Giani

2020

Biochar

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Hydrochar (HC), produced by hydrothermal carbonization, offers technical advantages over biochar (BC) produced by pyrolysis, and is suitable for soil amelioration, carbon sequestration, and enhanced plant growth. BC grain size has been shown to influence nutrient retention, microbial colonization and aggregate formation; however, similar research for HC is lacking. Pot trials were conducted to investigate the influence of HC grain size [coarse (6.3-2 mm), medium (2-0.63 mm) and fine (< 0.63 mm)], produced from biogas digestate, for soil improvement in three soils: loamy Chernozem, sandy Podzol, and clayey Gleysol, at a 5% HC application rate (w/w). All soils including two controls (with and without plants) were analysed for water holding capacity (WHC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), wet aggregate stability, pH, plant available nutrients (PO 4 -P, K and N min ) and germination and biomass success using standard laboratory and statistical methods. Soil pH showed a compensatory shift toward the HC pH (7.2) in all soils over the course of the study. For example, the pH of the medium grained HC treatment for the Chernozem decreased from 7.9 to 7.2 and increased in the Podzol and Gleysol from 5.9 to 6.1 and 4.9 to 5.5, respectively. The nutrient-rich HC (2034 ± 38.3 mg kg −1 PO 4 -P and 2612.5 ± 268.7 mg kg −1 K content) provided only a short-term supply of nutrients, due to the relatively easily mineralized fraction of HC, which allowed for quick nutrient release. The pH and PO 4 -P effects were most pronounced in the fine grained HC treatments, with a ~ 87%, ~ 308% and ~ 2500% increase in PO 4 -P content in the Chernozem, Podzol and Gleysol, respectively, compared to the controls at the beginning of the study. The same trend was observed for the K and NH 4 + content in the fine and medium grained HC treatments in all soils. No seed germination inhibition of Chinese cabbage was observed, with average germination rates > 50% in all soils. An effect on NO 3 − content was indeterminable, while there was little to no effect on biomass production, WHC, CEC and aggregate stability. In conclusion, the application of 5% fine grained HC significantly influenced the nutrient content over a short-term. However, the application rate was insufficient to substantially improve plant growth, nor to sustain a longer-term nutrients supply, regardless of grain size.

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“…Tambone et al [40] deduced that, because of the presence of biochemically protected SOC, the fertilizing capacity of LD could not be overlooked. Indeed, according to Greenberg et al [41], LD improved occluded particulate organic matter by up to 11% compared to mineral fertilizers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Short-Term Impact of Anaerobic Digestate on Soil C Stock and CO2 Emissions in Shallow Water Table Conditions

et al. 2022

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Anaerobic digestion has been recently proposed as a more sustainable energy supply chain able to strengthen the existing security of supply provisions. Anaerobic digestate (AD) is the by-product of the anaerobic digestion process and presents organic fertilizer characteristics, but its agronomic usage has been hindered by both agronomic and environmental concerns. In this study, the impact of agricultural liquid (LD) and solid (SD) AD and beef manure (Man) was evaluated on some agro-environmental characteristics. First, the AD fractions functional groups were characterized by FT-IR, and then LD and SD performances were evaluated on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and compared to beef manure (Man). The fertilizer impact was also considered with the presence or absence of a shallow water table. Results showed that SD increased of ca. 3 t ha−1 the SOC stock in the 0–20 cm soil profile with respect to LD, while it was comparable to Man despite the lower C input (1.7 vs. 8.7 t C ha−1), due to the presence of more stable compounds (e.g., lignin). The CO2 fluxes were affected by both fertilizer type and water table level. In the absence of a water table, the CO2 emissions (5.5 g CO2 m2 d−1) were driven by carbon content and quality in the fertilizer, while the presence of a shallower water table hindered mineralization of stable SOC and, in turn, reduced emissions (4.4 g CO2 m2 d−1). AD can be considered a beneficial solution to both maintain soil fertility and, at the same time, give new insight into a circular economy model, although further investigation on GHG emissions is required.

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Substitution of mineral fertilizers with biogas digestate plus biochar increases physically stabilized soil carbon but not crop biomass in a field trial

Cited by 47 publications

References 51 publications

Using highly stabilized digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulphate to replace synthetic fertilizers: The effects on soil, environment, and crop production

Using highly stabilized digestate and digestate-derived ammonium sulphate to replace synthetic fertilizers: The effects on soil, environment, and crop production

The influence of hydrochar from biogas digestate on soil improvement and plant growth aspects

Assessment of the Short-Term Impact of Anaerobic Digestate on Soil C Stock and CO2 Emissions in Shallow Water Table Conditions

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